Off of Solid Ground
by Fala-Li
Summary: They liked to think that their lives had resumed a sense of normality. That was before Rufus found himself the target of Shinra hating terrorism wherever he seemed to go. He never dreamed that Tifa would get caught up in it. Post AC. RufusXTifa.
1. Chapter 1

It had started out with what signified a regular day for Tifa. It was Sunday, so 7th Heaven had closed, and she was walking to the store for groceries. Since Barett had picked up Marlene yesterday, and Denzel had gone off with Cloud, the bar had been entirely too quiet and lonesome.

So when the museum came into her line of sight and Tifa saw people beginning to pour out of it in tangled crowds, half screaming and hysterical, she did what any ex member of Avalanche would do.

Tifa reached for the gloves that weren't there any more and took a deep breath before plunging forward. Diving into the hoard of people, Tifa fought her way forward towards the museums entrance, weaving through the scurrying bodies.

The crowd began to thin as she made it up the stairs and through the first doorway. By the time she had mounted the second set of short steps that marked the entranceway to the lobby, Tifa was the only one in sight.

Or so she had thought.

Tifa only had time to catch a blur of white clothes and blond hair as a man came hurtling across the room so quickly that she didn't get a glimpse of his face before he cried, "Get down!"

Not having time to react to the order, Tifa's eyes widened as the man lunged at her, wrapping strong arms around her waist and propelling them both backwards. As they flew down the top set of steps, Tifa heard two voices – one male, and one female – scream "Chief!"

She thought she saw two more figures lunging towards them.

And before they even had time to hit the ground, the deafening explosion rocked Tifa's ears, and the ferocious blast of heat sent their bodies flying even further backwards before everything turned mercifully black.


	2. Chapter 2

Tifa could sense the light behind her closed eyelids before she ever opened them. When she did, she winced as the sunlight ignited a powerful headache, moving one hand to cradle her painful head.

"Ughhh.." she muttered, and she heard a feminine voice somewhere across the room she hadn't been able to see yet made a sound of surprised.

"You're awake?" The voice sounded soft yet with a girlish tint to its maturity. Tifa recognized that voice, but couldn't pin a face to it, so once again, she slowly tried to open her eyes.

She found herself staring up at a concerned looking blond woman whose short hair framed an attractively built face. "Elena?" Tifa groaned out through the pain her head was giving her, wondering what on earth the female Turk was doing around her. It took a moment for everything to come back to her – the museum, somebody running at her, and then the explosion.

"You both hit your head really hard when you finally hit the ground. I thought you hit yours worse, since you were underneath him, but since he still hasn't woken up…" Elena trailed off, her eyes worriedly roving to another bed that Tifa hadn't yet noticed.

Following the woman's line of sight, Tifa found not only that they were in what appeared to be a hospital room, but that next to her on a white, sanity bed identical to the one she was on laid an unconscious man.

Gazing over at the man's fair features, white-blond bangs falling above closed eyes, Tifa found herself staring down at Rufus Shinra.

_She only had time to catch a blur of white clothes and blond hair as a man came hurtling across the room so quickly that she didn't get a glimpse of his face before he cried, "Get down!" _

What on earth had happened? Why had she managed to bump into Rufus Shinra, of all people, and why had he been in an exploding building of all things?

"….we thought we could disarm it," Elena replied, making Tifa realize she had voiced her thoughts outloud. She turned to see the blond woman averting her gaze with an abashed expression on her face.

"Disarm what?" Tifa asked, not knowing what Elena had been referring to.

"The bomb. We thought we could disarm it."

"…so you knew there was a bomb in there? Why on earth did you stay in there instead of running like everybody else?"

Elena began to fidget under Tifa's perusal. "We got a tip that there was a bomb. The President makes most of his appearances a public matter to try to show Shinra's growing support of the people, so it's getting harder and harder to keep him safe! This time, we accidentally found the bomb, and it was a fairly simple one, so we thought with Rude on the phone we could disarm it and save the museum, but…"

The woman broke off, and Tifa urged, "But…?"

"…but then we saw that there was a timer, and that it only had sixty seconds left on it."

Tifa stared. She couldn't help it.

"I didn't think a woman of your seeming intelligence would run into a building that was clearly being evacuated." Tifa turned to look at the newcomer, staring at Tseng's imposing figure as he strode into the room.

"For all I knew, someone might have needed help in there!" Tifa objected, bristling with anger at the comment the male Turk had made.

"It turned out he was the one who helped you," Tseng replied, nodding his head towards Rufus. "He would've made it farther out if he hadn't tried to take you with him."

Elena sputtered. "Sir!" she protested. "Miss Lockhart was only trying to help!"

Tifa turned her appraisal onto Rufus, noting how peaceful the man looked in his sleep. She knew very well that Rufus Shinra had taken a severe turn-around since after Meterofall. Despite his urging to stay unanimous, he was the WRO's largest and most remarkable donor, contributing unimaginable amounts of funding to their cause. They all knew that the man felt he had a great debt to repay the planet.

"Is he alright?" Tifa questioned, feeling a twinge of guilt that the man had hit his head while doing his best to tackle her out of harm's way.

"The nurse said he'll be fine," Elena responded, glowering at Tseng. "He'll have a headache, of course, and a few bumps. You both had some burns, though he took the brunt of it when he covered you."

Tifa noticed for the first time that Elena had bandages wrapped around one of her hands as well as her forehead. Both she and Tseng wore smaller bandages that held together multiple gashes and what appeared to be very painful and serious burns.

"You said that it's getting more difficult to keep him safe. Who's trying to blow him up?" Tifa questioned.

Tseng fixed his solemn eyes on her. "There are some people," he replied slowly, "that haven't forgiven Shinra Company's actions."

"They won't stop trying to shoot him, or blow him up, or whatever other stupid scheme they have up their sleeves!" Elena ranted in frustration. "I can't believe it! After all he's been doing these last years to help atone for Shinra's mistakes, there's still-" The woman cut off when Tseng gave her a slow, even look.

Tifa frowned, taking in the information they had just given her.

"The nurse said you're free to leave." Tifa took Tseng's comment as a dismissal. Eyeing Rufus one last time, she nodded and headed towards the door.

"Tell him I apologize for getting in his way. And thank him for me," Tifa told Elena, smiling in a friendly way. "I hope he's alright when he wakes up."

Tifa found her way home fairly easily, though her head wouldn't stop pounding the entire time. Once she reached 7th Heaven, she pulled open the door, not realizing in her pained state that the door which she had locked before leaving was no longer latched.

She had taken one step into the room when she was grabbed roughly from behind, and a damp cloth was shoved over her face. The room swam for only a moment before once again, Tifa lost consciousness.

Blue Nayru: Thank you! This fic might be a little slow in coming out, since my main one right now is Picture Perfect Truth. But it'll still have chapters coming out every now and then. Hope you enjoy the rest!

Aeriths-Rain: I apologize for having so few chapters… like I said above, I'm mainly concentrating on my other fic right now, but I want to write this one too before I lose the idea.  Thanks for reading!

Blueravenchick: Sorry this chappie isn't too exciting… it's the background info needed for the rest of the story to start working. I should have the next one out in a day or two! Thanks for your review.


	3. Chapter 3

Grogginess.

It covered Tifa's senses, and she swam amongst it for an eerily long time, wondering why it was that her body seemed to be nonexistent. After a while, she remembered that she had eyes; she struggled to open heavy lids.

As her vision blurred, she did her best to squint and focus it. The alarming notion that she couldn't move her arms, nonetheless any other part of her body slammed into her senses before she could see properly.

Tifa could make out the outline of a person sitting in a chair across the small room from her, their legs crossed, one hand tapping rythmatically against a thigh. As her head spun wildly, the image cleared into that of a man.

It wasn't an attractive man, yet neither was he unattractive. If Tifa had to categorize him, she would put him in the category that Rude went into – neither surreptitiously good nor bad looking. Just okay.

And then her foggy brain caught up with her, and Tifa realized that she was in some strange, foreign room with a person she had never seen before in her life, and that she must have been drugged because not a single part of her body would respond to her desperate attempts to move.

"Awake at last," the man drawled out, still idly tapping one leg. "Good timing too. It shouldn't be long before he shows up for negotiations."

Tifa tried to furrow eyebrows that wouldn't move. Slowly, she worked her mouth, moving it around until her tongue was capable of forming words. "Negotiations?" she repeated, amazed at the slur she formed. "For what?"

"For your safe return, of course."

For some reason, Tifa was feeling as if this were a very, very large puzzle and she only had two out of a few hundred pieces to it.

"My… my safe return?" she repeated dumbly.

The man snorted indignantly. "Playing clueless, are we? Very well – I don't mind playing along. As long as the ransom is delivered, you can be on your merry way," he replied, waving his hand nonchalantly.

"…Ransom?!" Taking a deep breath, Tifa asked, "And… exactly who is paying this ransom for my 'safe return'?"

Shaking his head and rolling his eyes at what he assumed was a fake display of ignorance, the man continued, "The Shinra President, of course. Are we quite done now?"

Tifa stared incredulously. Her apparent captor gazed back at her with an impatient expression. About forty seconds after the man's statement, Tifa burst out into laughter.

"Oh, that was good, you really had me going there!" the brunette hiccupped through laughter. "Me being held hostage for ransom from Rufus Shinra? Oh, that's a good one. Now, why am I really here?"

Standing up, the man crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm hardly amused. If you think you're going to convince me into thinking he won't come for you with some foolhardy lies, you're wrong. Everyone has seen the paper by now with the picture of you two being carried into an ambulance after being pried out of each other's arms. 'Real-Life Knight in Shining Armor! Rufus Shinra Saves Love Interest from Tragic Explosion,'" he recited.

He pulled the corresponding newspaper clipping out of one pocket, unfolding it and sticking it close enough to Tifa's face so that the young woman could read it.

"Well, excuse me!" she exclaimed, wishing she could move her arms to flail them in frustration. "Don't they doll that up! He didn't even know who I was when he tackled me down those stairs! How in the world could I be his love interest???"

Grinning, the man shoved the paper back into his pants. "He saved your life at the risk of his own health. He'll come for you."

"I don't think you understand. The last time Rufus Shinra had anything to do with a decision in my life, he tried to execute me!" Those flailing arms would reallllly come in handy right about now, Tifa decided in exasperation.

Any further protests were put to a premature rest as a gunshot rang out. It seemed that the initial gunshot was a prelude; a riot of firing guns blared noisily through the walls. Cursing, the man whipped a gun out of the back of his shirt, glancing unworriedly at Tifa. "There's only one door in this room, and don't think you're getting lucky, because I'm sure as hell not letting anyone come into it."

"Like I can move either way," Tifa muttered under her breath as the man flung open the door, checking the hallway before slamming the door behind him.

Despite the fact that guns dulled her hearing precision, Tifa could've sworn that immediately after the door slapped shut she heard a loud thumping noise. Wondering exactly how she was going to do anything about her predicament, she concentrated on turning her head to the door.

Slowly, the muscles in her neck responded, and Tifa managed to have the door in her line of sight at the precise moment that it swung open once again.

Blinking, wishing she could shake her head to clear her vision, Tifa wondered if she was so drugged up on whatever they had given her that hallucinations were becoming a part of it.

Rufus Shinra closed the door behind him as he slipped the long gun he had been carrying into his jacket. Eyeing her cautiously, the blond man inclined his head towards the door.

"Let's get a move on. Tseng and Elena won't be able to hold them off forever."

Tifa began to come up with any way that this scenario could possibly become any worse, or more embarrassing for her. When Rufus had his hand on the doorknob and still she had made no move to follow him, she felt a blush light up her face.

"I… I can't move. They drugged me. It took a few tries to even be able to talk, let alone turn my head a few inches to the side…" she explained, grateful that the expression on Rufus' face never changed. It remained fairly impassive – calculating, thoughtful… she knew that his mind was a dangerous thing indeed when he put it to work.

This was, after all, the man who had deemed it a worthy cause to rule the people with fear rather than money.

Closing her eyes at an abrupt wave of nausea, Tifa waited for Rufus to assess the situation and decide what was best. It was unnerving for someone like Tifa, who was used to defending herself with fists, to not be able to do a thing for herself.

Though there was a certain blond-haired individual that had once promised to come to her aid, should she ever need to be rescued.

"Now would be a good time, Cloud!" Tifa whispered to herself, inaudible to Rufus' ears. She heard him step forward, his shoes clicking rhythmatically against the tile floor until he stood directly in front of her.

"I apologize in advance," he commented in a passive tone; by the time Tifa had opened her eyes, Rufus already had slipped her arms over his back and pressed his shoulder into her stomach. With a marked ease, he slid her torso over his shoulder, one hand supporting her legs at the knees.

Not entirely happy to be carried like a sack of potatoes, Tifa opened her mouth to remark thusly… but then she took into account that it would be much preferable to be taken away from the crazy lunatics who had decided to drug her with who-knows-what, no matter how or by what means she was carried out.

And, as Rufus made his way to the door with his new-found bundle, his hand slipped under his jacket to retrieve the gun, and Tifa realized that if he carried her in both arms – which would've been much more comfortable – that it would've left him defenseless. And if he was defenseless, then so was she.


	4. Chapter 4

Tifa was entirely sure that the most embarrassing thing about being rescued from captivity by Rufus Shinra revolved around the lack of control over her body. It wasn't due to the fact that he had to carry her. No, that wasn't it at all.

Her mortification was over how, as she was slung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes as he ducked around corners, running steadily, Tifa had no control over where her arms were.

Later, when she would be retelling the story to Yuffie, Tifa was sure that the young woman wouldn't understand why Tifa's lack of control over her arms was so mollifying. So she would be ready to point out the facts without saying it directly.

If Tifa's midriff was on top of Rufus' shoulder, her legs sprawled over his front, then that left her head hanging upside down against the middle of his back. Which left her arms dangling down below his back. And what, exactly, is below a person's back?

Tifa could still picture the clueless look on the shorthaired ninja's face, so she figured that after all, she would just have to come out and say it.

Every time that Rufus took a step forward, it would jostle Tifa's limp arms, once in a while causing one of her hands to smack or bump against the man's butt. She really, truly, feverantly hoped that he was a little too occupied to notice, because she knew that she would never outlive the awkwardness of it.

The brunette's precarious dilemma caused time to drag by quite slowly, so when her averted vision met pavement instead of the floor of a building, she began to feel quite relieved. That relief heightened when Rufus suddenly lunged upwards, and Tifa found herself being laid down on a bench-like row of seats inside of a helicopter.

An empty helicopter, aside from the two of them.

Gunshots still echoed behind them.

"…who's flying the helicopter?" Tifa questioned warily.

Rufus' only answer was to climb forward into the pilot's seat. He began flicking at controls, fingers moving fluidly until Tifa could hear the propellers above them begin to move at what was first a slow pace that increased to an almost painfully loud whirl.

Somehow, over the noise that the propellers made, Tifa could make out a few voices yelling something that she couldn't quite make into a sentence.

A few seconds passed before two pairs of feet hopped up into the helicopter with them; Rufus moved aside to allow Tseng to take over the controls. Elena threw Tifa a wink before hopping into the co-pilots seat.

"Where are Reno and Rude?" Rufus questioned, sparing a glance towards the building they had evacuated.

"Oh, I imagine they're finding a good place to put the items we brought for negotiation," Tseng replied offhandedly. Following his statement, two figures burst out of the distant doorway and rapid footsteps approached the helicopter.

Reno and Rude flung themselves inside; before they had even landed harshly, the red-head yelled, "Get the hell out, yo! They're about to get their present!"

Tseng wasted no time. They were off the ground before Reno had finished his sentence, and Tifa found herself very warily watching a ruffled and exhausted Reno. "Exactly… what 'present' did you leave them?" she questioned delicately.

Reno smirked, tossing a thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the building that was growing thankfully distant. Tifa managed to work her neck in that direction just as the entire foundation went up in one crimson, orange and yellow burst of flame.

When at last she was able to turn back to the men before her, Rufus shrugged. "We didn't like their terms," was his simple explaination.

Tifa concluded then that her observation about Rufus being a very dangerous and cunning man had been extremely accurate indeed.

Elena's head poked around the side of her seat, and she looked up at Rufus with her big brown eyes. "Don't forget to give it back to her," the blond woman reminded gently, smiling quickly at Tifa before resuming her position of batting her eyelashes at Tseng.

Considering that she was the only other 'her' on board the helicopter, Tifa reluctantly asked, "Give what back to me?"

Rufus reached one hand into his jacket, pulling out a small object and tossing it into Tifa's lap. Unable to move her arms still, Tifa stared down at it, realizing belatedly that it was her personal cell phone. "How…?"

"You must've dropped it when they took ya," Reno commented smoothly. As if it was a perfectly casual action, he lifted up Tifa's legs, settling himself down onto the seat before placing her legs over his lap, one hand lingering on her calves.

"So," the red-head continued, smirking down at Tifa, "how's it feel to have so many men come dashing to your rescue?"

_Like a horrible reminder that once again, Cloud wasn't here when I needed him_. Tifa felt her heart clench, and she closed her eyes painfully. Reno frowned at the unexpected reaction.

"How are you feeling?" Rufus' voice didn't sound overly concerned, but Tifa supposed she should be grateful that at the very least he had asked.

"A bit nauseous, and I still can't move much more than my neck. But thanks for asking," she replied simply. Rude and Rufus sat down on seats across from them, the taller man in sunglasses frowning at Tifa's words.

When Tifa opened her eyes again – which were beginning to feel suspiciously heavy – she found Rufus' eyes locked onto her own. For a moment, she felt like wriggling under his scrutiny, before the blond man turned and mumbled something to Rude that she couldn't quite make out.

Reno began to say something to her, but it was becoming increasingly difficult to keep her eyelids open, and Tifa only heard the intonation of his voice before she fell into sleep once again.

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The next time Tifa woke, it was to two voices arguing. One was shrill and feminine, while the other clearly male voice was too unique to be mistaken for anyone else.

"-something perverted!" Elena snapped, balancing the bowl of soup in one hand while doing her best to pummel Reno with the other one.

"Was not! Jeeze, what's so wrong with a guy lookin out for a lady, huh?" Reno defended while fluidly moving out of the way of Elena's fist.

"Cut it out! You're gonna spill the soup!"

"If you quit tryin to hit me, you wouldn't spill the soup, yo!"

"If you quit dodging, I wouldn't have to quit trying!!"

Groaning, Tifa put both hands against her aching temples as she sat up in what appeared to be her own bed. The pain in her head was suddenly an insignificant matter when put next to the relieving fact that she once again had control over her own limbs.

At the noise she made, Elena and Reno both paused in their bickering; as the blond disregarded the bowl of soup in her relief that Tifa had awoken, she didn't pay attention to its balance. Only Reno reaching out and catching the bowl in both hands as it slipped out of Elena's hands saved it from a cruel fate of meeting the floor.

"What are you two doing here?" Tifa found herself asking, and at the slightly offended look Reno shot her, she amended quickly, "not that I don't appreciate you sticking around… I was just surprised."

"The President told us to stay here to make sure you were alright," Elena rattled off easily enough, setting the soup down on a nightstand beside the glass of water and Tylenol that Tifa had neglected to notice. "I mean, we got back here and you were all alone in the house still, so we figured you didn't have anyone here."

Reno raised an eyebrow at Elena, wondering if she realized how offensive her innocent comment might have been taken. A slightly pained expression came across Tifa's features.

"What happened to your man and the kids?" Reno drawled out, curiosity getting the best of him.

"Marlene is spending the next month with her father. Cloud…" Tifa swallowed through the lump in her throat. "Cloud has been gone, taking care of some personal things. He took Denzel with him."

"Doesn't he have enough personal things to take care of here?" This time, it was Elena who shot Reno the reproving glare at the red-head's insensitive remark, which clearly hadn't made the brunette feel any better.

Tifa, trying to mask how she felt with what turned out as a bitter smile, stared out the window. "You would think so, wouldn't you?"

Feeling the sudden tension in the air, Reno reached into his pocket and pulled out a small cell phone, handing it to Tifa. "It's from the President. In case you run into any more trouble. The media blew the entire hospital thing out of proportion, so it's no big surprise that the goonies came after you this time."

"It's connected to the Chief's personal line," Elena continued. "So it's for in case of emergency."

Holding the thin phone in her hands, Tifa turned her head to examine her own original cell that sat on the table. A sinking feeling once again claimed her stomach as she confirmed by the screen that she hadn't missed any calls while she had been out.


	5. Chapter 5

Thank you to everyone who reviewed!! I had a few people asking nicely for updates, so, here it is, a bit earlier than I had planned.

And please forgive any spelling/grammar mistakes... I tend to write these chapters at 1 in the morning and then post them unedited, as you see it now.

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On the day that Tifa had been brought back to her house unable to move her body until she had woken up once again, Elena and Reno had generously stayed with her until the next morning. Once they were content with the knowledge that she could take care of herself, the pair had left – Elena whacking Reno over the head with a rolled up newspaper as she left, their bickering carrying out the door.

Two days passed after her kidnapping, and Tifa's life resumed normality until that second night. The brunette was upstairs, carrying laundry across the hallway to her bedroom.

She had been about to pass where the hallway opened into the stairs when she heard the front door customers used open. Her first reaction was to set the laundry basket down to kindly tell whoever had come in that 7th Heaven was closed for the night….

….but then she remembered firmly locking and bolting the door.

Instincts kicked in; silently, she flattened herself against the wall. Without making a sound, not realizing she was holding her breath, Tifa turned her head so that her eyes could peer around the corner of the wall.

Instantly, her head whipped back out of the other person's view. It had been a man – a man who was holding a gun.

_"It's from the President. In case you run into any more trouble." _Elena's words ran through Tifa's mind, and in a panic, she realized that both the phone the Turks had given her and her own personal cell phone were in her bedroom.

And to get to the bedroom, she would have to cross the stairway.

Footsteps that were purposefully quiet reached Tifa's ears, and she tensed, praying that the man would check the downstairs kitchen before coming upstairs. Thankful that she knew the layout of the building so well, Tifa waited until the moment when the footsteps had reached a place that was out of sight from the stairway.

Knowing well that if she rushed across the hallway and made a sound that she would be given away, Tifa tried her best to slowly cross it, clenching sweaty palms tightly until her nails dug into her skin.

Once she was a safe distance past the stairs, she hurried on into her bedroom. Careful not to make any noise, Tifa slid the door closed and locked it before grabbing the two phones on her nightstand.

Her personal cell, she stuffed into a pocket. Tifa held the other in her hand as she unlatched the window, flipping it open.

But with her hand on the window, one leg raised to jump out of it, Tifa paused… could she really call Rufus Shinra for help? It seemed so wrong to her. Cloud had promised long ago to be there when she needed rescuing…

_"It's connected to the Chief's personal line," Elena continued. "So it's for in case of emergency."_

Considering the circumstances, Tifa surmised that she didn't exactly have the luxury to be picky. So she hit the call button, and raised it to her ear as she hopped up onto the windowsill, hearing one ring before her feet left the ledge and the second-story drop rushed towards her.

"Miss Lockheart?"

Tifa's feet hit the ground, right as she questioned back, "Rufus?" feeling a bit strange at calling him by his first name. But what else was she supposed to call him? Shinra?

The thought was cut off as a gunshot blasted into her ears from her left side; Tifa screamed in pain as the bullet scraped into her arm as it went by.

"She's over here!"

Tifa clenched the wound on her upper-arm, cursing the fact that it had been the one holding the phone that now hung limply at her side. Only risking a short glance as she bolted for the alleyways between the buildings, she caught sight of a different man holding a gun waving in her direction.

And then it was nothing but her legs moving as fast as she could make them go, dodging crazily between buildings, trying to stay in alleyways while attempting to make it too confusing for anyone to follow her.

Every male voice that rose to meet her ears made Tifa flinch, and she was in such a hurry to run – somewhere, she didn't know where, just away – that the incredulous stares at the blood running down her arm didn't even register in her mind.

Weaving through the city, Tifa made for the outskirts, only resting when she had come to an alleyway where she leaned heavily back against the wall, keeping her head craned to the side so that she could see anyone approaching from where she had come.

Gasping in lung-fulls of air that she had been deprived of, Tifa tried to even out her breathing, clenching her teeth against the pain in her upper arm. Moving off of the wall, she pivoted so that her full body was facing the way she had come but still hidden behind the corner, waiting to see if she was clear.

When a large, warm hand clamped lightly down on her shoulder, Tifa startled even herself by letting out an ear-piercing, blood-curdling scream. Her built-in reflexes took over, and she leaned all of her weight to her left leg as she raised her right leg in a powerful roundhouse kick that took the person behind her in the stomach.

Fists raised, Tifa whirled around just in time to see Rufus slam into the wall across from them, his blond head rebounding off of the concrete.

Her hands rose to clamp over her mouth in shock, dropping the cell phone onto the ground with a loud clank. Still jittery, she jumped nervously before reaching down to pick it up before jogging to Rufus.

By the time she reached him, he was sitting on the ground with one hand raised to a head that now sported a bleeding cut on the side.

Tifa had been about to ask if he was alright when he opened stunning blue eyes and fixed them directly onto hers with a level expression. "I never gathered," he started slowly, "that you were the type to scream like a girl who had seen a spider."

Blushing furiously, Tifa wondered how it was that the least expected things sometimes seemed to come out of Rufus Shinra's mouth.

"Everybody has their moments," she mumbled out in response, lamenting that she would feel ridiculous in making an attempt to protest that she never screamed like a little girl…. But men with guns chasing you down was enough to snap anyone's nerves.

"How did you find me?" Tifa questioned. "And why are you even here? It doesn't make sense to be here yourself when these people are after me because of you in the first place – you're the one they really want. Shouldn't you have sent Reno or somebody else?"

Brushing off his jacket, Rufus stretched his legs to stand up once again. He wobbled slightly, one hand going to his head again, and Tifa almost reached out to steady him in case he fell over.

But the man supported himself with one hand against the wall, eyes refocusing past a wave of nausea before he nodded his head in the direction of the phone she held.

"Your phone has a tracking device set in it that allows my phone to trace its location," he responded slowly. Tifa bristled and was about to rage that her privacy had been invaded when Rufus continued.

"But my phone is only able to trace your phone's location if you turn on the sensor that allows it to, in case of an emergency where one of us needs to find you." When Tifa looked shocked, Rufus shook his head. "Apparently, Reno neglected to enlighten you on that insignificant fact."

Leaning back against the wall, Rufus closed his eyes. "If you don't enable the sensor, then I can only locate you from a very close range." Opening blue eyes and finding her once again, he finished, "that's why I spread out with everyone else."

"Everyone else?" Tifa repeated incredulously.

"Elena, Tseng, Reno and Rude," Rufus clarified.

Tifa's head snapped up as she heard footsteps; a casual person passed by the alleyway, not paying them any heed.

"We need to leave," she told him, trying to keep the frantic note out of her voice. "I don't know how many of them there are, and I don't know how far back I lost them."

Pushing away from the wall, Rufus took a step forward, his gaze now fixed on her heavily bleeding arm. "Bullet wound?" he questioned, and Tifa was about to nod when Rufus lost his balance and reeled forward.

To prevent herself from being knocked over, Tifa reached out and caught his upper arms to try to steady him, wincing at the sting it caused her wound.

"Are you alright?" she finally asked, noticing that a large portion of his hair was now dyed a deep orange from blood. Seeming disgruntled at the fact that he was appearing off-balance, Rufus nodded and pulled away from her, only to display a marked unsteadiness again.

Tifa had seen his head and its rough impact against the wall, and she bit her lip guiltily before crossing over to his right side. Gearing herself up, she took his left arm and slung it around her shoulder and then wrapped her good arm around his back.

When he tried to tug away, her voice took on a scolding tone that made him pause. "Don't be stubborn. It'll go faster this way, if you're not stumbling around."

Although Rufus relented, it was only due to the fact that he could barely walk with her support, let alone without it. Tifa's round-house kicks were a matter to be reckoned with, and it had sent him flying back with such force that his head had ricochet brutally off of the wall.

While they slowly walked along together, Rufus managed to pull out his phone and contact the Turks, instructing them to bring the helicopter around to a rendezvous point.

They had made it to the open area where the helicopter was – Reno waving from the pilot seat, with Tseng, Elena and Rude waiting with arms folded over their chests on the ground – when another gun fired, echoing against the far buildings.

Tifa had been raising her injured arm to wave at Elena, who had enthusiastically been greeting them, shifting to the side to allow Rufus to stand on his own when the bullet came flying towards them.

Unintentionally, Tifa had blocked Rufus' side as she moved to yell to Elena.

The bullet slammed into her back, and this time it was Tifa Lockheart who went sprawling forward into Rufus Shinra's arms, blood splattering against the man's stark white clothing.

---------------------------------

...review:)


	6. Chapter 6

**Wow. **So, can anyone say, long time no update?

Sorry for that, for whoever still may be sticking around here reading this. I still don't have my computer up and running, but my brother was awesome enough to hook up my harddrive so I could at least access my files.

So here's a crappy little, short chapter until my brain is working better and I conquer my horrendous case of writers block.

--

_It's just too hard to hold onto what is never around._

_He ought to know that by know…._

--

Unintentionally, Tifa had blocked Rufus' side as she moved to yell to Elena.

The bullet slammed into her back, and this time it was Tifa Lockheart who went sprawling forward into Rufus Shinra's arms, blood splattering against the man's stark white clothing.

Rufus knew without looking that all three Turks standing a fair distance away had their guns drawn; rapid gunfire from both directions confirmed what he already was sure of. Ensured that they would cover him, the blond man fought his dizziness. He gathered a stunned, open-mouthed Tifa into his arms and jogged the rest of the way to the helicopter.

Tseng bustled them in, practically throwing Elena into the helicopter as well before snagging Rude by the back of his jacket and dragging him inside; bullets bounced off of the metal sides as they slammed the door closed and Reno took off.

"Oh my god," Elena put both hands over her mouth, appearing to be nearly in tears as she stood over Tifa. Ignoring the young woman's reaction, Rufus carefully laid the bleeding brunette out on the row of seats.

Everyone aside from Reno watched as Tifa stared up at Rufus, her eyebrows furrowed not in pain but in deep conflicting thought. The man stared back down at her with an impassive face as everything flared through Tifa's mind in a dull haze.

It wasn't Cloud's blue eyes that were hovering above her own, Tifa noted belatedly, and she realized in that instant that it might never be Cloud's eyes again. It wasn't that Cloud didn't care about her; she knew he did. But his emotional distance to people was becoming more of a physical distance.

And he didn't answer his phone any more, let alone stay around to save her when she was in danger. How could the clear blue eyes above her be so similar, and yet so different at the same time?

Her last conscious thought was that it was so ironic that the man who had once tried to execute her was now the one saving her, instead of her childhood love and friend.

They all knew the moment that Tifa slipped unconscious, and with that Rufus stood, striding to the cockpit to instruct Reno to fly somewhere they could seek medical attention.

In his absence, Elena hopped down and grasped one of Tifa's hands in both of hers, watching the other woman's face for any tell-tale signs of pain or awareness.

It was there when Tifa first felt consciousness coming to her – the distinct scent that belonged to Cloud. A scent that she knew well from being in his arms when she was injured, or from simply being close to him. If she was told to describe the scent, she wouldn't be able to put it into words; it was simply the soft, masculine scent that always permeated his clothing.

And then she fully woke up, and the scent was gone, leaving her to realize that it had been a play of imagination – and perhaps longing – all along.

The first thing that she realized was the room – it wasn't hers, or one recognizable to her in any way. Thin rays of dim light filtered into the room through a set of blinds against an open window that brought a warm breeze in, letting Tifa know at the least that it wasn't night time.

When Tifa tried to sit up, pain shot through her abdomen and her lower back, sending her flopping backwards onto the bed again with a shocked, pained cry.

Memories came back to her in flashes, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't think of how or when injury had befalled her. Taking a deep breath, Tifa peeled up her shirt – unfamiliar to her and looser than her normal wear – and frowned at the bandages wrapped around her chest, blood seeping faintly through them.

Confusion couldn't begin to describe her current state. The last thing she could remember was running towards the helicopter next to Rufus Shinra. And then laying in a helicopter seat, blue, pristine eyes gazing down at her without a mark of expression.

But why had she been laying across the seat? And who had put her there?

Desperate to explore her surroundings, the brunette bit her lip, preparing for the inevitable pain that would come from swinging slender legs over the bedside and trying to gain enough footing to come to a standing position.

The movement caused the world to spin before her, fading along the edges until it blurred into nothing but gray and black. Fumbling for the edge of the nightstand, Tifa held onto it until the haze began to recede, once again regaining her vision.

Never allowing one of her hands to be unoccupied by a surface that could steady her, Tifa made her way across the room, using the wall to support her.

It wasn't until she made it to the doorway that she stumbled again, hands losing their grip and reaching for the nearest thing to grasp on to before Tifa could hit the ground. Miraculously, she found something solid, waiting once again for her blackout to fade.

When it did, the discovery belatedly hit her that what she had grabbed onto was strangely warm. Raising her eyes, Tifa discovered that her current lifeline was a forearm – one that was very much attached to a certain blond-haired, blue-eyed man.

As she blinked up at him, wondering if they had given her some kind of pain medication that was mulling with her senses – or if it was from a lack of blood – Rufus peered down at her with what someone might consider a slight frown, and yet, Tifa could've sworn there was bemusement tinged in his expression.

"I wouldn't suggest walking yet," he stated blandly, and if Tifa had possessed the energy, she would have responded with more than a pathetic sounding groan.

Swaying on her feet, Tifa waited for the ceiling to be the next thing before her vision. But a hand was placed impassively against the small of her back, preventing her once again from falling.

"What happened?"

Those piercing blue eyes scanned her face as if performing multiple calculations before he replied evenly, "You were shot."

"Oh." Yes, Tifa decided, they definitely must have given her some drugs, for she rarely ran on any mood but turbo and enthusiastic, and 'oh' was the most intelligent reply that would come to her mind at the moment.

There it was again – the slightest tug at Rufus' lips that made her wonder if he possibly could be amused by her lack of consciousness.

"They shot me?" she finally managed, realizing that the hand at her back was doing more than keeping her from falling backwards; Rufus was giving her enough support so that her knees, which threatened to buckle, wouldn't collapse beneath her.

A minute or so passed before the answer was given to her. "The bullet was aimed for me; you managed to step in the way a moment too soon."

"Oh." More points of intelligence for Tifa went to the score-board with her third most witty reply of the day. "Where am I?"

"Secluded, for the moment, from anyone attempting to find me."

"Oh. Can I go home now?"

His lips twisted downwards, and Tifa wondered if it was a look of aggravation for troubles that he definitely didn't need on his plate. "I'm afraid that until this slight problem is resolved, you won't be going anywhere."

Tifa wondered in her half-drugged state if that could qualify as kidnapping. But better kidnapping than shot by the people who had been after her, right? Wait – she amended – they _had _shot her. Well, better than being shot again?

"Problem?" she repeatedly, her voice becoming softer as it became more difficult to form words; sleep was pulling at her insistently.

Rufus' expression seemed to imply she had gone daft, but he replied despite the fact. "It would seem," he started, slowly, with a certain, slight distaste to his words, "that you have been deemed by my enemies as my 'weakness'."

A snort flew by Tifa's lips unbidden, followed by a giggle. "I'm sorry, can you go over that again?"

"It appears that our mutual attempted assistance of one another has lead to the increasing belief that we are, for lack of better words," the frown was back, "an 'item'. Thus, making you an easy target to attempt to use to bring me down." Tifa tried to swallow that all at once, mind still spinning. "I would prefer," he continued casually, as if speaking about something no more significant than breakfast, "for no more deaths to be on my hands, if possible."

"So, I'm staying here?" Tifa repeated.

"For the time being."

It became a staring contest, neither moving or speaking. His hand was still at her back, likely the only thing keeping her upright.

Until Tifa reached out to grab the doorframe, pulling herself into a pathetic standing. But Rufus refused to relinquish his hold, cold and impassive as ever.

"Where, precisely, do you think you're going?"

"Uh…" Tifa tried to hide the beginning of a blush on her face, eyes shifting between him and the hallway, wondering how to phrase the answer to that. "I need to… well…"

His eyes revealed his impatience. Sighing, Tifa explained as delicately as possible, "I need to find a restroom, if possible."

Rufus couldn't help it; not having received the answer he was expecting, he momentarily did nothing but stare. Tifa stared back at him, wondering how much more humiliating life could get, until Rufus turned his head down the hall and called, "Elena?"

Within a moment, a blond head poked out of a nearby room, and, seeing the situation, the woman approached delicately.

Without a word, Rufus unceremoniously – for lack of better terms – dumped Tifa into Elena's competent arms, striding off with a dignified nod and leaving Tifa to once again explain her increasingly urgent need to find a bathroom.


	7. Chapter 7

Yes, I **am **alive! Amazingly...

Despite forming a horrendous case of carpal tunnel (surgery, here I come!) I managed to churn out this chapter. It's 2a.m. and I'm exhausted, so beware of typos and cheesyness. I love cheesyness. Much cheese will ensue.

-~~~~~~~~

_ Today is a winding road that's taking me to places that I didn't want to go  
Today in the blink of an eye I'm holding on to something and I do not know why_

As Tifa soon discovered, it **could** be much worse.

And it was **much** more embarrassing.

Tifa had been determined to change her clothing without further assistance; she couldn't bear to burden Elena any more than she already had, and at the time it had seemed like an easy enough task.

At the time, however, Tifa hadn't realized how stiff her torso was, how difficult – nearly impossible – it was to lift her arms.

At the time, Tifa hadn't had her face covered by the shirt that was currently stuck in an awkward, half-pulled-up position, with one of her elbows caught in it. No matter how long she sat in the painful pose, she was begining to realize that no miraculous twist of fate was going to get her out of this shirt.

Lifting her arm any further brought an excruciating pain that had almost made the brunette cry out loud. There was no other way around it; she was going to have to get Elena's help with dressing after all.

With a deep breath, Tifa slid off of the bed, stepping carefully until she felt the cool wall against her uninjured shoulder. Using it as a means of support, she edged along it until it broke off where the door lay. Feeling completely foolish, Tifa shuffled around a bit until her elbow found the door handle, finally being able to turn it.

Giving the door just enough pressure to open a few inches, Tifa paused before tentatively calling out.

"Elena?" Her voice came out muffled, sounding pathetic as pain pinched through her, weariness crawling at the edges of her mind.

But only silence filled the hallway, and Tifa fell against the doorframe. "Elena?" she called out, a bit louder this time. This time, something – footsteps, measured and growing closer, but not entering the doorway.

"I'm sorry to bother you, but I really… need help," Tifa explained softly, stepping back so the doorway was clear.

Wondering why Elena was being so quiet, Tifa listened as the door opened further and footsteps stopped before her.

Silence.

"…Elena?"

"Elena left with Reno to do some shopping." Rufus' voice nearly made Tifa jump out of her skin; although her face was hidden beneath the shirt, the woman felt her face go crimson, because she had no idea exactly how much of her front was exposed.

"Exactly what did you need assistance with?" If his voice had been mocking, Tifa could have been angry – could have considered shoving him out the doorway and closing it in his face. But unless she wanted to remain stuck in her cramped position until Elena decided to return, she had no choice but to face the embarrassment.

"I'm… stuck."

Hearing him shift closer to her, Tifa tried not to inch away, wondering precisely how ridiculous he must think her to be. "I can't lift my arms," she explained, "I tried, but it hurt so... I had to stop."

"Can you sit back on the bed for a moment?" he asked, and she heard it in his voice – the analytical, logical tone that meant he was assessing the situation and finding the best means out of it. Leave it to Rufus Shinra to view a woman being stuck half-undressed as a puzzle to work out.

Tifa had been about to reply, but then realized that without being able to see, she would likely run headfirst into a wall. "If I could see where it was."

She jumped a little at the first touch of his warm hand on her bare skin. Tifa figured he must have noticed, because the man paused slightly before carefully sweeping her up under her knees with one hand still on her waist, and her first stupid thought was - _Hallelujah, I'm not a potato sack this time._

The bed met her back before Tifa could begin to think about when the last time was that she had been held so gently by a man, how badly she had missed the warmth of being cradled against a strong chest. She swallowed through a lump in her throat, wondering how she could feel so in place in Rufus Shinra's arms, and wondering how on earth there could be a longing to be back in them.

"I'll be back," he commented, leaving Tifa in the middle of churning emotions and thoughts as he strode out the door swiftly. He returned before the young woman could begin to gather any semblance of order, and the bed sank down a bit beside her as he settled down.

Attempting to sit up as straight as possible, Tifa bit her lip and wondered outloud, "It would be easiest to just pull it back down, right?" Wishful thinking, she knew, because if she was lucky, the shirt would just swallow her up and spare her the entire ordeal.

Missing the slight wry twist to Rufus' lips, Tifa waited for the man's response. "You already have one arm out; it would be less of a struggle to simply slide it over your head." With that, he felt silent, as if waiting for permission to continue.

"I'm sorry." The words slipped out of her mouth as Tifa realized the man was likely as awkward and embarrassed about the situation as she was. For all she knew, he was probably regretting that he hadn't let her get shot when he had the chance.

His response was a warm hand in the small of her waist as his other ran along her wedged elbow, keeping her still. Tifa realized why once she felt him tug the shirt to the side, pulling one side tightly against her waist but allowing her elbow a bit more room. "Can you pull it out?" he questioned.

Gritting her teeth, Tifa made a short lived attempt. As if sensing her frustration, Rufus moved his hand from her waist and slid it into her shirt, fingers brushing against her trapped arm. Tifa felt a slight shiver at his touch, hoping he didn't notice the reaction.

Before she could take another breath, Rufus had her elbow in a gentle, steady hold; he kept it stable while sliding the shirt carefully over it. Her long, dark hair was tugged in different directions as the shirt was tugged over her head, and beneath the curtain of strands, Tifa could finally see again – and, to her relief, her cramped elbow finally was able to straighten.

Rufus released her arm and turned, picking something up from the bed in one swift motion. The white, cotton shirt was over her head before Tifa could blink.

His back was turned, then, and Tifa glanced down at the new, larger shirt. It left her plenty of room, ensuring that she wouldn't be getting stuck taking it on or off. It was stark white, soft, clean, and yet it held a certain scent that would have been unfamiliar had Tifa not been in Rufus' arms mere moments ago.

Realizing he had given her a shirt of his own, Tifa examined the man's posture, wondering how such a stoic man could possibly be so thoughtful and caring. For all matters, he could have turned around and left her to struggle out of the shirt on her own devices; it wasn't as if she was any responsibility of his.

Slowly, Tifa moved her arms through the sleeves, expecting pain but relieved to find that with the extra room the larger shirt provided, it was no challenge at all.

Clearing her throat, Tifa stated softly, "Thank you."

His eyes flickered to her as he turned his blond head over one shoulder, and Tifa wondered if she imagined the way they lingered slightly on how her frame was cloaked in his shirt before he nodded.

Using her hands on her knees as leverage, Tifa pushed herself to a sitting position, giving Rufus a weak smile as she stepped forward. "Is it alright if I come out for a while?"

Although barely perceptible, Rufus noticed the slight sway to Tifa's stance. With one arm, he reached out, and not even the cotton of her shirt could keep her from feeling the warmth that his hand radiated.

"I apologize," he stated, "You must be hungry."

Averting her gaze, Tifa slowly made her way through the door, grateful for his bracing hand that both guided her and kept her from stumbling.

They had made it most of the way down the long hallway and nearly to a room beyond, which Tifa could see was cozily laid out with comfortable couches and television on one side, the other tiled with a counter, when the front door she hadn't noticed swung open, letting in nearly blinding sunlight.

An unintelligible screech that might have been an insult from Elena's lips was the only warning before Reno ducked in the door, a can of some type of food flying over his head. Only Rufus' arm snagging Tifa by his hold on her waist and pulling her to him saved her head from the impact of the astray can.

Finding herself close enough to Rufus' chest to only have to move an inch to lean her head on it, Tifa tilted her chin up to examine the slight exasperation showing through on the man's face.

Elena lunged in the door, a second can ready for aiming in her hand before she caught sight of them. Reno, who had long since hidden behind the couch, posed for cover, held back a snort as the blond woman tried to close the door, shove the can back into a bag and appear entirely innocent all in the same motion.

"What happened to your hair?" was the first question that flew out of Elena's mouth, and Tifa realized for the first time how much of a mess it must be after her war with clothing had ensued.

"Don't you two look cozy!" Reno snickered, finally daring to raise himself from behind the couch. "Jee, you could have just told me you liked it rough!"

The meaning of Reno's comment hadn't yet penetrated through Tifa's mind when the bag in Elena's hand went sailing through the air, smacking the man in the chest and knocking the air out of him.

"Elena," Rufus broke in before the woman could launch herself at the sprawled out, prone form of Reno. "Our guest is hungry. Please see to it that she's taken care of."

Expecting to be dumped into Elena's arms again, Tifa was surprised to feel Rufus' hands linger on her waist a moment longer than necessary, giving Elena the opportunity to grab the brunette's arm. As the blond led her away, Tifa felt Rufus' fingers slide from her, suddenly feeling as if a chill had set into the room that hadn't been noticeable before.

_Until next time! Reviews and thoughts appreciated. Again, I apologize for the typos - knowing me, it's probably riddled with them._


	8. Chapter 8

I apologize for the shortness of the chapter. But with all you lovely people who took the time to review, I wanted to get something posted, so here it is!

_Sometimes, it isn't holding on that shows we're strong; it's being able to let go._

_Thinking about the times we shared  
Looking at the stars, the sky's so clear  
If I could freeze time, I'd stay right here  
But I can't, so I'm moving on_

Tifa had her cozy array of friends, both male and female, and she could easily say that she loved them all. But there wasn't someone to sit next to her on nights when words weren't necessary and just enjoy being together in silence, as Elena was currently doing, and it made Tifa begin to feel a growing kinship for the woman.

The blond woman had easily smiled encouragingly as Tifa had made two phone calls; one, to inform Barrett that she was and would be away for a while – to hear Marlene's cheerful voice and be the caringly, motherly influence that every girl needed – and another, to Cloud. That second call hadn't been answered.

As always, Tifa had found herself talking to a voice mail, never knowing whether her message would be played repeatedly or discarded.

But eventually, the cups of hot chocolate in their hands grew cold, and the heat from the fireplace was too much of a sleeping lull to Elena. Bidding Tifa a good night, the young woman left for her bed. And Tifa's phone had still not rang.

The brunette was about to follow suit when a shuffle of footsteps before her made her turn; Rude stood against the far wall, arms crossed over his chest, something akin to a frown playing over his face. She gave him a warm smile in return, knowing that the man meant no ill will by his expression.

His words, though, caught her by surprise.

"It is not right for a beautiful woman to be waiting alone for a phone call. It should be that a man waiting anxiously for yours."

With that cryptic, and yet obvious statement, he unfolded his arms and disappeared down the hallway, leaving Tifa to stare back into the flickering flames, wondering exactly when it was that so much of her mind was occupied with waiting for the phone to finally ring – of glancing down to make sure she hadn't missed a call.

Nearly an hour later, when Rufus emerged from the kitchen, straying into her path, he found Tifa in the same position, gazing into the fire. When her eyes moved to him, the man gained the sense that something was a bit off – that the glint in her eye, burning hot as the fire behind her, surely hadn't been there before.

"Is there a body of water nearby?" she questioned suddenly, her voice as much of an enigma as the woman it matched – youthful, nearly childish in its sweetness, and yet holding a seductive hint of a mature woman behind it.

"A lake, not a far walk away." Nothing could faze the man, Tifa would realize later; any other would have questioned the reasoning behind the random, nonsensical question, but not Rufus Shinra – no, he simply replied, as if it was natural.

Dark hair flowing behind her, Tifa was gripping the door handle, pulling it open and striding out before Rufus could get a word in edgewise. Throwing the fireplace a wistful backward glance, he strode after her, giving the door a push as he left.

As he followed the woman, he began to catch a glimpse of that fiery, determined pose he had seen years ago; the back arched, shoulders thrown back, chin tossed up in defiance. Her gait was fast, enough so that the man had to nearly jog to keep her within his sight. For a moment, he considered calling out – telling her which direction to head.

But she appeared so resolute that Rufus couldn't disturb her. Besides, she was fair onto the right path, so instead, the blond watched the way the moonlight seemed to flow off of her hair in an ethereal glow, examined the hand clenched around the phone so tightly he was surprised it didn't break.

Then the lake and its cool, serene waters were before them. Rufus watched as Tifa began to raise her arm, then dropped it.

She turned to him, then, those dark eyes fixated on him beneath a grim exterior. Tifa extended her hand to him, and for a moment he could only glance at her before he surmised that she meant him to take the phone from her outstretched fingers.

"Throw it for me." Her voice, stern and firm, was less of a surprise to him that the strange words.

"I'm sorry?" he questioned as her hand brushed against his, depositing the phone before withdrawing, not understanding in the least bit her meaning. If her fingers lingered, tracing across his palm in a way that would make any other man shiver in response, Rufus seemed to not notice.

"Throw it into the lake, please. I would do it on my own if it would not open my wound," she explained, yet the explanation was hardly enough for Rufus to discern why the woman would want him to cast her phone into the water.

Instead of asking, he stood a scant few inches away from her, face-to-face, searching her features for a meaning to match her strange actions.

Meeting his gaze head-on, Tifa bit her lip and shook her head once in affirmation; whether to confirming thoughts to herself or to enforce her request, he knew not. Rufus watched an inner conflict wage, saw one side emerge victorious.

"I'm done waiting. I've done enough of it in my lifetime. All the time that I've spent, chaining myself to my phone, staring down and waiting for a call that never comes… it's draining away so much time and energy that I could have put into living. Throw it in the water."

Turning the phone in his hand, flipping it absent mindedly, Rufus continued to regard her, though she had turned to face the shimmering waters.

"And the children? If they try to reach you, and cannot?" Later, Tifa would realize that a man many thought heartless had stood beside her in the freezing cold night air while she must have looked nothing but insane, and instead of saying so, he had voiced concern for those he had no obligation to. But not right now.

"I talked to them earlier. They know not to go to Seventh Heaven, and they know that I'm alright. I'll see them soon enough." Taking a deep breath, she spoke quietly enough that he had to strain to hear. "I once questioned if we had lost to our memories. I refuse to lose to my past, to lose my future."

In that moment, Rufus Shinra found something in the woman before him that he couldn't help but admire. Here was a girl whose way life had thrown a jumble and myriad of tragedy, suffering and cracked pathways, and only through gritting her teeth and pushing her way forward one heavy step at a time had she survived.

And now, in lieu of waiting for more disappointment, she was casting away all chains restraining her, tearing herself away from the past to create herself a future. More easily said than done, that – to admit there was no use in hoping, that it was a waste.

He waited for her dark eyes to snag his light blue ones once more before taking a step backward. Bracing himself, he lunged a step forward and flung the small device as far as his strength would allow.

Together they watched it soar with a strange whistle as it left his palm, until with a distant splash it fell into icy cold waters.

Unable to disturb her, Rufus waited as Tifa's shoulders slowly lost their rigidity, as her hands unclenched and the tension seemed to leave her body. Wind picked at strands of her hair, brushing a few against the taller man's wrists as he remained beside her until at last she turned, arms wrapping around herself as if she had suddenly noticed the biting cold night air.

Tilting her head upwards, Tifa stared purposefully into his eyes, a small smile forming on her face. "Thank you."

_Not much Rufus/Tifa action in this chapter, but trust me, the cheese will come. *Rubs hands together and cackles evilly*_


	9. Chapter 9

AN

Wow, it's been a while. This one is short, and once again it's more of a build-up chapter than a real Rufus/Tifa moments piece. This one is for the readers who have kept encouraging me to get a chapter out! Thanks guys! I will try to have more to come soon. :)

* * *

It was the pure, thickening terror in Tifa's shrill scream that sent Rufus bolting up from the couch despite having been in the midst of deep sleep. Instinctively, his withdrew his gun, all exhaustion and drowsiness disappating as he threw open the door and flung himself outside, pointing the barrel in the direction of the threat.

A snowball flew by his head, narrowly nicking the hair. Tifa's shocked face peered at him from behind the short snow wall she hid behind, her mouth forming a comical "O" mere seconds before the impending ball of snow smacked her in the chest.

Elena's strangled cry of distress precluded her pivoting to grab a handful of snow and shove it in Reno's face. "You idiot! I can't believe you actually hit her!"

"Well dang, I gave her plenty of time to dodge! It wasn't meant to hit her, I swear! Something distracted her!"

Putting one hand to his face, Rufus lowered his gun and strode forward, stepping over the freshly fallen snow to reach Tifa. She was still laying down, looking as if the wind had been knocked clear out of her, and he couldn't help but notice the stark, beautiful contrast of her dark hair against the white blanket beneath her.

"You'll break open your wound like that," he remarked dryly, grimacing as expaseration tinged his voice.

Tifa only blinked up at him from her position, and with Reno and Elena still screaming at each other in the background, Rufus wondered if she was still processing the situation at hand. When her dark eyes trailed down to the gun he was still holding in one hand, he knew he had startled her. Not nearly as much as her shriek had startled him, but still.

Tucking his gun into his jacket, he took her by her good arm and pulled her to her feet as carefully as possible. She wobbled in place for a bit before gaining her ground.

"Did we wake you?" Tifa asked, not noticing the sudden silence as Reno and Elena noticed the new development and ran to hide behind their erected wall of snow.

Trying not to let his face show how ridiculous the question was, Rufus merely wrapped his hand around her arm and pulled her back into the building, raising one eyebrow at Rude as he passed. "Your clothes are wet," he remarked instead of responding to her question, purposefully avoiding looking in the direction of her white, now semi see-through shirt.

She seemed to realize what he was saying almost instantly, blushing a bright red and hurrying down the hall to slam a door before he had a chance to say anything else. Clearly in her fun, the brunette hadn't realized.

Having the clarity of mind to provide some forethought, Rufus stepped back outside, Elena's body still hidden from sight. "Elena," he called, and tentatively the blond poked her head up from the pile of snow, clearly relucatant to face his possible wrath.

Instead of saying anything, he simply waved her over with his hand, proceeding back into the building and leaving the door ajar from her. Within a few quick moments, the similarly soggy blond rushed in through the door, exertion from the snowball fight still coloring her cheeks a slight pink.

"Tifa may need help changing," was all he told her, and Elena seemed to realize what he meant because she nodded and hurried down the hallway. Rufus waited to hear her knock on Tifa's door, speaking softly before turning the doorknob and entering.

Once more he made his way outside, snow crunching underfoot as he approaced the mound which still not so efficiently hid a few strands of bright red hair poking up. Rufus came to a stop directly before it, waiting. However, the red strands of hair didn't move, despite the fact that now, as close as he was, the blond could see Reno's hunched over back and knew that the red-head knew he was visible.

"Reno..." Rufus started, his voice displaying his irritation, and the man wondered if it would be too immature of a gesture to smash Reno's face into the snow.

However, he didn't have any time to think of any further action before the hard, compact projectile smashed into him from behind, nearly knocking him to the ground. Instantaneously, Reno sprang up from the ground and began his attack before Rufus even had the chance to throw a betrayed glance over his shoulder at Rude.

Several minutes later, the two dry and warm women stood in the ajar doorway, huddled together smiling at watching the scene unfold before him.

"Do you think we should rescue him about now?" Tifa questioned, her arms crossed and head leaning against the doorframe, wincing with a smile as Rufus got knocked over by another particularly large snowball thrown by Rude.

"Nah," Elena replied, grinning ear-to-ear. "I'm willing to bet the guy's never praticipated in a snow ball fight in his life. It'll be good for the boss."

Tifa resisted the urge to cover her eyes as Rufus continued to get battered, a scowl on his face that at the same time managed to appear baffled. "I'm not so sure I'd call it a snow ball fight so much as an ambush..." Tifa countered, and both girls glanced at each other before laughing softly amongst themselves.

"Let's let them nuke it out and go make some hot chocolate," Elena suggested.

Tifa nodded, gazing towards Rufus one last time. At that moment, his piercing eyes met hers, silently accusing her. She smiled impishly and ducked into the house, pulling the door shut behind her.


End file.
